"The truly strange thing in your lives is that you not only fail, but fail to learn your lesson."

"I am a spiritual leader. I am a symbol."

"There are no elections in the Jamahiriya. There is no need for elections. The people govern directly."

"The world should embrace direct popular democracy."

"[Abraham] Lincoln was a man who created himself from nothing without any help from outside or other people. I followed his struggles. I see certain similarities between him and me."